Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

The Santa Clara Valley archaeobotanical record spans the central California Early, Middle, and Late periods. Sites CA‑SCL-12, -478, -674, and -919 have robust assemblages of plant remains from distinct periods which are used here to evaluate alternative models of plant use in interior and bayshore settings. The interior model is a better fit for the Santa Clara Valley, even for the near-shore site SCL-12. The existence in the South Bay of poorer and more difficult to access aquatic faunal resources appears to explain the greater focus on plant foods there than in the East and North Bay.